Not much to say here, this chapter is leading up to the romance between Russia and Sophia. Hope you enjoy, I don't own.
Chapter 3: China's Mind
It took Sophia a week before she stopped jumping every time Russia walked into a room. Lithuania's words stuck with her and she was always watching him carefully for any signs of her impending doom.
But after a whole week passed Sophia got… well… nothing. Russia seemed like a nice, if intimidating guy. Nothing more nothing less.
After the first week passed and nothing happened Sophia decided that if Russia wasn't going to show her the true him, she would just have to find it for herself.
Sophia wanted to know. She didn't, couldn't, believe Lithuania's words that Russia was a monster.
Sophia was a realist rather than an optimist or a pessimist but Lithuania had made a good point before. Russia was the physical embodiment of all his land and its people and since there was no such thing as an inherently bad race of people, Russia must not be a genuinely bad person or a 'monster' like Lithuania had described him, right?
Right. Thought Sophia, edging down the corridor. The time was 8:34pm, Siberian time, the day was… Wednesday… Sophia was pretty sure. The operation was Get To Know Russia.
The door to Russia's study was open slightly, Sophia peeked through the gap, Russia appeared to be on the pone with someone, he was holding the phone to his ear with his left hand and writing something in a notebook with his right.
"Nu, khorosho, uvidimsya zavtra Kitay, do svidaniya," Russia said in Russian.
Sophia cursed, she knew about five words of Russian; yes, no, clouds, gay and boy. The fist two due to a Russian classmate, the last three thanks to tatu songs. Russia hadn't said any of those words. Russia hung up the phone.
"You can come in if you like; you don't need to stand in the doorway like that." He said in English.
Sophia jumped then chuckled at herself, there go my dreams of working for the CIA, I'd make a pretty terrible spy in Russia. She thought wryly.
Pushing open the door Sophia walked inside Russia's office, he turned to smile at her, his smile had creeped her out a lot more a week ago then it did now but it still gave her chills.
"Hi Russia," Sophia said, tugging on the bottom of her hot-pink t-shirt.
"Hello little Sophia, how have you been? This hasn't been to stressful on you, has it?" Asked Russia.
Sophia shrugged, "I want to go home soon, my dad will be batshit with worry, but other then that, I'm fine."
She replied, she didn't like to think of what her father, her only family, was going through. She was actually rather enjoying her time here, it was like an adventure and everyone loved adventures, but thinking of how worried her father would be quickly made Sophia depressed.
She had seen enough cop shows in her life (she was a big fan of Criminal Minds and NCIS), to know that the likelihood of a kidnap victim still being alive got worse and worse after the first twenty-four hours. Sophia wasn't actually a kidnap victim, but her father had no way of knowing that. She kicked moodily at the carpet.
"You've been following me all day, did you want something?" Russia pressed gently.
"Not really, I just wanted to know if England's made any headway with reversing this spell-thingy." Sophia replied, trying to figure out a way to phrase her second request in a way that wouldn't make Russia think she was more mentally deranged then he already believed her to be.
Russia gave her a slightly sympathetic look, "sorry not at all, but he is trying so just be patient, da?" He said, finishing with a smile. "Was that all?"
"Well," Sophia fidgeted with her shirt again, "I want to watch a movie but I hate watching them alone, it makes me feel like a total loser. Will you come watch one with me?" She asked, figuring it was better to just say it.
Russia's pale eyebrows shot up into his hairline, secretly Sophia enjoyed being able to startle Russia when it became apparent that not many people could.
"You want me to watch a movie with you?" He asked, no one had ever said that to him before.
Sophia nodded, "yeah, it'll be fun, come on." She grabbed Russia's sleeve and pulled him into the large living room. After Sophia picked a movie and Russia figured out how to put it in English they settled down to watch it.
"What made you want to watch this one?" Asked Russia, as the movie 'Lolita' started.
Sophia shrugged, "I read the book and it was really good so I want to know if the movie lives up to it." She said and Russia nodded.
They didn't talk much throughout the rest of the movie and when the credits rolled across the screen Sophia sighed. "Okay, I don't know what I want to do with my life but I now know that my dream is not to end up like her."
"My dream is to live in a warm place surrounded by sunflowers," Russia said quietly, Sophia glanced up at him, not expecting that.
"That sound…nice," she said.
He shrugged, "but not ending up like Lolita seems like a good goal, da? Everything about that relationship was absolutely awful."
Sophia folded her arms, "interesting that you should say that." She commented, "I agree with you in theory, their relationship was one-sided lust, not love, paedophilic and manipulative but I think it's interesting how the relationship between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in Twilight can be seen as romantic. Edward is 110, I think, when the movie starts, Bella is 17. And yet a relationship between Humbert, 37, and Lolita, 12, is absolutely horrific. It makes no sense, yeah, I get that they're completely different in some ways but seriously, you'd think that people would take a good look at what they're saying every once in a while."
She had thought Twilight was pretty good when it first came out and her dad had brought her the first two books for Christmas but every time she read the books she became more and more displeased with the way what should have been a great love story got twisted by the idiotic tendencies of both characters.
"I think it's the fact that 'Bella' was old enough to make her decisions by herself and wasn't manipulated into anything while Lolita was too young and was manipulated," Russia said intelligently. "By the way, what's 'Twilight'?"
Sophia looked at Russia for a long moment, "dude, I get that you're Russiaand all, but seriously, you don't know what Twilight is?"
Russia shook his head, Sophia rolled her eyes, "trust me, you don't want to."
She pushed her blonde bangs back from her eyes and pushed up her glasses. "So you think it's the willingness of the person that matters? Well Edward only being physically seventeen and a rich, sexy vampire probably didn't hurt."
She drummed her fingers on her leg, "hey Russia, how old are you?"
Russia looked baffled, again, "physically or biologically?"
"Both," Sophia replied, studying a small rip in the knee of her jeans.
"Why do you want to know?" Russia asked curiously, Sophia wasn't the only person in the room trying to figure out how the other one worked.
She shrugged again, "just curious."
The next day China sipped his tea with amusement as he watched the American female quarrel with Russia, well the girl was quarrelling, Russia didn't know how to quarrel. And the only female who ever got forceful with him was his sister Belarus and she terrified Russia so the large nation was rather bad at standing up to girls.
This little female really was devious though, China smirked as he lifted his cup to his lips, she was using her status as America to try and make Russia let her sit in on a meeting between him and China. Russia kept arguing that it wasn't any of her business and the girl kept insisting it would be fine if Russia had nothing to hide.
China had to give the girl points, not many people had the guts to tease Russia and not many people had the guts to pretend to be America.
Yes, China was well aware that this female, no matter how much she looked like him, was not America. He was the oldest nation in existence, the only one of the Ancients who had not dissolved; you didn't live as long as he had without being incredibly observant and intuitive. He could instinctively sense that this female was not America, no matter what bullshit story Russia fed him about America being turned into a girl.
America never would have taunted Russia about sitting in on their meeting for one; America would simply have sat in anyway. And America never would have agreed to live with Russia for any period of time for another.
'The girl' as China knew her, came waltzing into the room, a satisfied smirk on her face, Russia following at her heels like a puppy. It was clear who had won that argument.
The girl jumped up on Russia's desk, "well, please continue gentlemen, don't mind me." She said, inwardly Sophia was cheering, she had won an argument against Russia, how many other girls could say that?
Russia smirked too; China saw a devilish and uncharacteristic glint come into his friend's pale violet eyes, "Nu, nachnem Kitaye?" He asked in Russian.
China saw the Girl's cheeks flush angrily and decided to play along, "Konechno Rossii" he said smoothly.
"Hey! Stop speaking Russian!" Sophia ordered, Russia was smirking; he was doing this on purpose. He's just mad because he doesn't want me to sit in on his little meeting. But what does it matter, in reality I'm just one girl.
Truthfully Sophia herself had no idea why she wanted to sit in on this meeting anyway; it wasn't going to be anything big. She supposed it was part of her strange growing curiosity and need to know more about Russia.
"But you speak Russian don't you America? You learnt it during the Cold War didn't you?" China asked evilly. America had done no such thing. But this girl wouldn't know that.
Sophia flushed, did I? Er, America? Sophia wondered, "I-I do speak Russian," she stammered, "I just can't be bothered translating right now."
She hopped off the desk, "I've changed my mind, I don't want to listen in on your Commie meeting anymore anyway." And with that she zoomed off, mentally cursing language barriers.
Russia chuckled; the two of them went back to their meeting.
On the plane back home after the meeting China stared out of the window listlessly, he wondered who that girl really was and why she and Russia were pretending she was America. He had wanted to ask but when Russia had told him the girl was America he had looked so uncomfortable China decided on the spot not to bring the subject up unless Russia or 'America' did.
China wasn't the type of guy who enjoyed deliberately making other people uncomfortable…most of the time anyway. He wondered where the real America was and what he was doing that was so strange he would need a female stand-in. The world passed serenely by as strange ideas and conspiracy theories passed through China's mind.
Yeah, it was pretty obvious what that was all about, da? R & R people. Oh, and 'Nu, khorosho, uvidimsya zavtra Kitay, do svidaniya,' means 'well okay, I'll see you tomorrow China.'
'Nu, nachnem Kitaye?' and 'Konechno Rossii' mean 'well, shall we start China?' and 'of course Russia,' respectively. Or at least according to Google translate they do so I could be way off.